Well packer



Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES WELL PACKER Leon L. Maokowsk,Bradford, Pa., assignor to Oil Well Supply Company, Dallas, Tex., a.corporation of New Jersey Application March 20, 1934, Serial No. 716,538

6 Claims.-

My invention relates to a packer that may be expanded to close the spacebetween thev wall of a well and a, tubing extending thereinto so astoprevent escape of fluid through the packed space. l

The invention relates more particularly to a packer for"y Wells throughwhich a uid under pressure is introduced for the purpose of forcing orooding oil from oil-bearing sand into a 10 number of surrounding wells.

In this method of forcing the oil from the oil-bearing sands, it isnecessary to shut offthe fluid supplying well above the oil-bearingstrata so that the required uid or water pressure may vbe maintained onthe sand. y

These wells at the level where they are to be packed are generally notcased and the wall of the well formed by the rock may be of enlargeddiameter or may even be somewhat irregular so that if the packingmaterial be expanded uni-v formly by mechanical means it may not t thesurface of the well tightly and may not form an effective packingagainst the pressure fluid. Suchpackers cannot in all cases be expandedby internal pressure until ther well is packed because exterior pressuremay balance that supplied.

An object of my invention is'to provide a well packer that will ensurean effective packing even under the conditions set forth above and inwhich any inerlectiveness in mechanical packing may be overcome by anauxiliary fluid pressure expansion of the packing element and in whichthe fluid pressure expansion may be ren- '35 dered operative under allconditions by an auxiliary mechanical packing.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a packing device whichV issimple and inexpensiveto construct and which can be readily re- 40moved, and to provide a packer that is not readily damaged while beinglowered into position in the well. l

Various, features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing which slows vertical views partly in section of a packerembodying a ,preferred form of the invention,-Fig. 1 showing thepackerbefore expan-v sion and Fig.' ,2 showing the packer jafter beingextended mechanically and by uid pressure.

450 f In my invention a packer body is provided with be anchored in thewell below the level at which. the well is to be packed.

An expanding sleeve is mountedv above the packer element and the loweredge of this sleeve is Atapered or beveled inwardly so that as it islowered with the body relatively to the packer element it slides withinthe latter and expands 5 the latter outwardly to the inner surface ofthe well. In this way a Amechanical packing isobtained.

The packer body is provided with passages or openings through whichwater or other fluid 10 under pressure may be admitted to the inner sideof therubber packer element or sleeve, and the latter may then beexpanded outwardly to the inner surface of the well completely shuttingthe latter regardless of any enlargements or 15 irregularities in itsdiameter. The operativeness ofthe iiuid expansion of the packer elementis ensured by, the mechanical packing which in any event shuts the welloff suiiiciently to prevent eiective balancing of the pressure fluid byliquid vor water standing in the well above the packer.

In the accompanying drawing, a packer body or tube I is suspended fromthe lower end of a tubing 2 by means of a coupling 3 threaded internallyat its upper end on the lower end of the 25 tube 2 and enlarged as at, 4and internally threaded to receive and secure the upper end of thepacker body I. The outer surface of the coupling 3 may be grooved as at5 to receive a shing tool. A collaror ring 6 is slidably 30 mountedon'the lower part of the packer body I and during the lowering of thepacker to the Well rests on the collar 'I threaded on to the lower endof the packer body. The lower part of the sleeve or support 6 is reducedas at 8 35 and threaded on to a supporting pipe 9 which may extenddownwardly and rest on the bottom of the well.' Instead of thesupporting pipe 9` a hook wall, disc, screw set or other anchoringmeans, such as are well .known in the art, may 40 be employed. A packingcollar I0 of expansible rubber material is slidably mounted on theouter4 surface of the tubular body I and at its lower end rests on thesupporting ring 6.

Immediately above the expansible packer ele- 45 ment an expanding collarII is mounted on the packer body I and secured thereto by means of setscrews I 2. The lower end. of the expander sleeve II is beveled ortapered inwardly as at' 50 I3 so that as the pipe 9 reaches and issupported on the bottom well the further lowering of the packer body Iand the expander sleeve I I causes the tapered part I3 of the latter toslide underneath the inner surface of the packer I Il 55 andexpand itoutwardly to the surface of the Well.

The packer body I is provided with a series of openings or passages I4through which water or other uid under pressure may be supplied fromwithin the packer body I through the tubing 2 to the inner surface ofthe packer element l0 and force or expand the latter outwardly to anyextent required to reach theinner surface of the well. The uid pressurewill cause the packer element to accommodate itself to anyirregularities in the diameter or shape of the well and thus provide aneffective seal even when such irregularities occur as might impair theeiectiveness of the mechanical seal.

By employing the mechanical expansion and the iiuid pressure expansionunder the conditions set forth above an effective packing is therebyensured even through the well be lled with water and even though theinner diameter of the well be irregular.

The above construction also permits a packing element of smaller outsidediameter to be employed. This is an advantage in an uncased well asthere is less likelihood of the packer element coming into contact withan irregular or jagged well surface.

In order to remove the packer it is merely necessary to withdraw thefluid pressure and pull the tubing 2 upwardly whereupon the expandersleeve Il will rst be drawn upwardly from the packer element l0 and thenthe latter being released from contact with the well will be drawnupwardly as the ring 1 engages the supporting ring 8.

Various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art Withoutdeparting from the in-4 vention as defined in thefollowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. A well packer comprising a tubular packer body, an expansible packingelement surrounding said body, means on said body to expand said packingelement mechanically at its upper endand means comprising openings insaid packer body to supply uid under pressure to expand said packingelement.

2. A well packer comprising a tubular body, a packer sleeve ofexpansible material encircling said body, supporting means for saidexpansible member including a stand pipe slidable on said body belowsaid sleeve and an expander sleeve ilxed on said body above said packersleeve and having a beveled lower edge over which said packer sleeve mayslide and be expanded, said body having openings to admit uid withinsaid Apacker sleeve below its upper end.

3. A well packer comprising a packer body, an expansible packing elementslidably mounted on and surrounding said body, means to support thelower end of said packing element in said well, means on said body toexpand the upper-end of said packing element mechanically, said packerbody having passages to admit fluid under pressure within said packingelement.

4. A well packer comprising a packer body, an expansible packing elementsurrounding and slidable vertically on said body, a tubular means openat its lower end depending from said expansible member to rest on thebottom of a well and thereafter to support said expansible member assaid body is lowered, and expansion means on said body to expand saidexpansible member as said body is lowered relatively thereto, said bodyhaving passages below said expansion means to the interior of saidexpansible member.

5. A well packer comprising a tubular packer body', a tubular expansiblepacking element surrounding and slidable vertically on said tubularbody, a tubular means open at its lower end depending from saidexpansible member to rest on the bottom of a well and thereafter tosupport said expansible member as said body is lowered, and expansionmeans comprising a ring having a wedge-shaped lower edge on said body toexpand the upper edge of said expansible member as said body is loweredrelatively thereto, said body having passages below said expansion meansto the interior of said expansible member.

6. A well packer comprising a tubular packer body, a tubular expansionelement surrounding and slidably mounted on said packer body, a tubulardownward extension from said expansible member projecting below thelower end of said body member to rest on the bottom of a well, andpassages from said tubular member to the interior of said expansiblemember whereby the latter may be expanded by fluid pressure.

LEON L. MACKOWSKI.

